SOCHI, Russia (AP) — U.S. short track speedskater J.R. Celski is hoping the next time he meets his buddy Macklemore, he'll have four more Olympic medals to match the Seattle rapper's four recent Grammys.

It'd be a fitting personal coincidence for the skater, who used Macklemore's music as motivation after an ugly injury in 2010 nearly kept him from the Vancouver Olympics. He eventually won two bronze medals, then went on to produce a documentary last year about Seattle's hip-hop scene that featured Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Celski says they've stayed in touch, including visiting at a recent concert in Colorado.

"Every time I meet up with him, there's a cool kind of bond there," Celski says. "We talk about dedication to our crafts."

"He brings a lot to the music world as I do to the skating world," Celski says, "so there's a good comparison there."

Celski qualified for 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-meter solo races, along with the 5,000-meter relay.

— Oskar Garcia — Twitter http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

Associated Press reporters will be filing dispatches about happenings in and around Sochi during the 2014 Winter Games. Follow AP journalists covering the Olympics on Twitter: http://apne.ws/1c3WMiu